Hindus have commended Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, 31, for reportedly turning to yoga to stay healthy, fit and in shape during pregnancy. A yoga instructor visits Kate several times a week at the Kensington Palace to give her private lessons in pre-natal yoga, who is expecting her first child in July, reports suggest.

According to National Institutes of Health, yoga may help one to feel more relaxed, be more flexible, improve posture, breathe deeply, and get rid of stress. According to an estimate, about 16 million Americans now practice yoga, including celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston, Lady Gaga, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ricky Martin, Madonna, Dennis Quaid, Sting, Bon Jovi, Heather Graham, and Christy Turlington.

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It is claimed that pre-natal yoga keeps limbs toned, improves balance and circulation, helps learning to breathe deeply and relax, and is beneficial during labor and birth. Pre-natal yoga is also quoted as “one of the best forms of exercise during pregnancy” and prepares for the birth “by focusing on relaxation and breathing techniques”.

Welcoming Kate’s yoga usage, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed said that yoga was a mental and physical discipline by means of which the human-soul (jivatman) united with universal-soul (parmatman). It was Zed who suggested to Kate to explore the spiritual dimension of yoga also besides its physical benefits.

Some sages had described yoga as the silencing of all mental transformations, which lead to the total realization of the Supreme Self. Zed pointed out that according to Patanjali who codified it in Yoga Sutra, yoga was a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical.